hello, everyone!
it's a beautiful morning for a walk
this is something that I try to do almost every day
and I always carry with me some sort of camera
a couple of years ago, I shared with you
in one of these videos
the camera gear that I bring with me on my daily walks
that video is still true today
most of the time, I do most of my photography
including my daily walks
with just 2 zoom lenses
but I also wanted to build a set of prime lenses
because I wanted to switch things up every once in a while
to limit myself creatively when it comes to focal lengths
but also to give me more tools, new tools
like being able to use shallower depth of field
after a few years, I can say that I finally have a set of lenses
that I love bringing with me on a daily basis
today, I wanted to share that trio of prime lenses that I love so much
you might have noticed that the bag is a little bit bigger
because it is
this is the 10-liter version of the bag that I showed you a couple years ago
I still have that 6-liter bag that I bring with me when I use the 2 zoom lenses
but I needed the extra space for the extra lens
and I also have some new stuff in here
I really like these bags
even though they are a little bit expensive
but I know that I'm gonna use them every day and they're gonna be pretty good
here they are, the trio of prime lenses that I love so much
you might know 2 of them already
because I've had them for a while
this one here is new
so we'll talk about all of them, and why I chose these 3 focal lengths
again, keep in mind that the vast majority of my photography
is still done with the Tamron 28-200mm lens
and that it took me quite a few years to get here
to get to having this set of prime lenses
so the vast majority of the work that you've seen from me
was made before I had these prime lenses
what I mean with this is
the last thing I want is to make you feel like you have to buy these 3 lenses
or any of them
to achieve any kind of result
that is not true
let me introduce you to the 3 lenses we're gonna be talking about today
the first one is the sigma 20mm f/1.4
this is my most recent acquisition, just a few months ago
the second one is one that I got last year and that you already know about
it's the Sony 35mm f/1.4
and the last one is one that I've had for...
I don't know..., 3 years now? or a little bit less
but anyways, the Rokinon 85mm f/1.4
so why these 3 lenses?
well, I'm gonna be talking about each one of them separately
but I think it's the combination of them all
paired with a high resolution camera like the a7r II
that gives me quite a bit of flexibility, for being prime lenses
because I can crop quite a bit, even get to aps-c mode
so for example, the 35mm lens that you can see here can work as a 35 1.4
or in aps-c mode, it can work as a, more or less, 50mm f/2 lens
following that same logic, these 3 lenses give me more or less
a range from 20mm to 135mm when I crop the 85mm in aps-c mode
but there is much more than that
you know that I really like to work the scene when I find something that I really like
I try to find every angle, I try every focal length I can
so this is a very good reminder of the very minimum that I have
to do when I find something that I like
I first shoot it from far away, getting a lot of context with the 20mm
then I get a little bit closer, still capturing a little bit of context
but focusing mainly on the subject with the 35mm
and then I go for the little details with the 85mm
they are all great lenses in and of themselves
but they are even better when they are together
they make for a very powerful kit that I love to bring with me
okay, let's start with my most recent acquisition
that is the sigma 20mm f/1.4 I bought back in February or March
so just 3-4 months ago before leaving the US
this is a lens that I never thought I'd buy, to be honest
you see, for the longest time I didn't have a wide angle lens
even though I guess this qualifies more as an ultra wide angle lens but
when I shot the Bronica, when I was shooting film
the widest lens I had was the 50mm
that was more or less, roughly, a 26-28mm equivalent in 35
when I switched to digital, to the a6000, 24mm was the widest that I was able to go
so for many many years, I didn't have that option
and that was okay, because I found those focal lengths quite challenging
I don't think my photography is minimalist
but I do like to make simple images
free of clutter
ultra wide angle lenses make that very, very hard
because you are including a lot in the frame
so it had to be a very special place, a very special scene
a very clean subject with a very clean background, to work
in order to work with one of these lenses
I do have an even wider lens
this one, the Tamron 17-28mm, but that one I use mostly for video
and lives on my a74
so what's changed? why did I get the 20mm?
well, it's all about the fast aperture, about that 1.4 aperture
it's starting to rain, by the way...
that aperture makes a big difference
because when you shoot with wide angle lenses
the depth of field is by default much greater
so even though you can be shooting at f/2 or f/2.8, the depth of field is it's pretty big
most of the stuff is going to be always in focus
but at 1.4, I can get a somewhat shallow depth of field
and I believe that it has a very distinctive look
this kind of lenses is not very common
I think this is the only 20mm f/1.4 lens in the world for any system
correct me if I'm wrong
anyway, thanks to the fast aperture I can play with my subjects
in a way that I could not with my previous lenses
I have to get really close to them, but when I do
I can isolate them from the background
and focus all the attention on them
so the viewer doesn't get lost
it doesn't always work because sometimes the background is just too busy
and no matter how fast the aperture you use, it's just not going to work
I used to say that the fog was the poor photographer's bokeh
I used to think that way
actually, fog is much better than having a fast aperture
so if I can choose, I prefer to shoot with an f/4, f/5.6 lens on a foggy day
than using a very fast prime lens on a rather boring day
the results are different, the atmosphere is not the same
you just get better results with better conditions
but this is the next best thing
for when we don't have those conditions
like we hadn't here for a long time
these past few days have been very sunny, very clear, very hot
but today that I'm recording a video, of course it had to rain
I think it's stopping already anyway
anyway, with great power comes great responsibility
it's very easy to overdo the whole bokeh thing
I like to go for a more subtle effect
one thing that I really like doing with fast apertures
no matter if I'm shooting the 20, the 35, the 85, whatever I have
is to capture a subject that is relatively far away
and capture some of the foreground
that foreground is going to be out of focus
but it's going to be gradually getting in focus
until we get to the subject
that is a transition that I really like
it's a transition that I really think helps the image
it helps the viewer to know where they should be looking at
and I think it makes the overall image just better
again, it's just a tiny thing
very, very subtle
at that point you might be wondering:
so is it worth having that very heavy and very big lens for that very subtle effect?
and yeah, it is for me
because this is what I do every day, this is what I do for a living
so I think that is worth it, for me at least
the other option for the Sony system was the 20mm f/1.8 from Sony
price-wise was pretty similar, I think they are the same price
but the other lens is half the weight and half the size
so for a while, I was thinking about going with that one
but I'm very happy that I went with this, with the 1.4
because otherwise, I know, I know, that I'd be thinking...
I'd be wondering if the 1.4 would make any difference, when I'm taking photos, or not
and I know that after six months, one year, two years, whatever
I was going to buy this one
so I just decided to go for it right now
and avoid those problems in the future
it's a beautiful lens, and I use it very often
more often than I thought I was going to
I even use it for video
okay, next one is the Sony 35mm f/1.4
this is a focal length that I love because it's not too wide, it's not too narrow
like a 50mm would be
this lens at 1.4 is just beautiful, absolutely beautiful
I got this one a year ago, just before my trip to Norway
I bought it for that trip, basically
it is my most expensive lens by far
I thought about getting this lens for a long time
because I'm very, very small
I'm a very small photographer and my budget is very tight
so an expense like this one is a big, big one
I'm not like a wedding photographer, or a real estate photographer
or someone who has very specific needs
I don't really "need" any lens
I just capture what I see and what I like
I don't have to... you know, meet any requirements from anyone else
so I don't really need any of the equipment that I have
because I didn't need this lens, it was really hard to justify buying it
I don't like owning expensive gear
because you can lose it, you can break it
I like to use it in bad conditions as well
and I'd be having second and third thoughts about
exposing expensive gear to rain, snow, cold, the heat
but the thing is that I missed my old Samyang 35mm f/1.4 quite a bit
that was a very heavy, very big lens
it was bigger and heavier than the sigma 20mm
but I missed it
I missed the images that I was able to make with that lens
but as you might know, that lens stopped working after around a year of use
I did some research online, it looks like the issue is a pretty common one with that lens
since then, Samyang released the Mark II
but it looks pretty much the same, it's just a slightly different design
but it looks pretty much the same, optics, mechanics and everything
my options were:
well, I can go with that lens again because it's cheaper
even though it's a little bit heavier, bigger
but what if it fails again?
do I buy it again?
do I keep buying Samyang lenses until the end of days?
or should I go with the Sony?
this one that is a much more expensive lens
but it's also much lighter, much smaller
and the performance should be even better than the other one?
that was my thought process here
I didn't want to buy another Samyang 35 that would break on me again
that is the excuse that I came up with to justify the purchase of this very expensive lens
but anyway, now that I have it, I love it
I absolutely love this lens
I've made some beautiful images that would not be possible to make with my zoom lenses
the better low-light performance of shooting at 1.4
of course, has come in handy a few times
but what I like the most is that very unique look that you can get when you shoot a wide angle
because this is still a wide angle lens
when you shoot them at 1.4
there are a couple of images
one of a cat that I made here, during one of my daily walks
and one of a horse in the Lofoten islands
that use that very shallow depth of field
and that I believe work because of that
but most of the time, again, it comes down to that very subtle effect
of having some elements of the frame slightly out of focus
while the subject is totally in focus
it's not for everyone
a landscape photographer usually wants to have everything in focus
I don't think the same way, I have a different approach to photography
and this lens fits the bill pretty well
let's move on to the last lens of the trio
it's also the oldest one of the three
it's this Rokinon 85mm f/1.4
I've had this lens for 2.5 years, maybe a little bit more
and I really, really like it
this used to be my favorite focal length when I shot with the Bronica
back then, in medium format terms, that was the 150mm f/4 lens
I made one of my favorite images ever with that lens
"The last of winter"
as you can see in that image, this focal length allows you to extract the essence of a scene
you don't see the top of the trees
but all the attention goes to the interplay in between the trunks of the trees
and the contrast with the white ground
now, being a longer lens, the 1.4 is almost overkill
because it can actually blur the background out way too much
that is not something I necessarily want to do
so I find myself shooting this lens very often at f/2, or even f/2.8
so if I were ever to replace this lens
because this one breaks or if I lose it, or something happens to this lens
I might go with a 85mm f/1.8 instead
because of the size, much smaller, much lighter, and also the price, much cheaper
what I like about this lens is that it's very, very simple
it has a focus ring, and nothing else
and I really like that
compare it to the 20mm, and you'll see the big difference
this one has buttons and switches everywhere
I personally don't use them, so they are kind of useless
they are just another point of failure
and they make the lens more expensive
for example, the aperture ring
the reason I don't like it is because I don't use it
I'm always shooting wide open with these lenses, that is the reason why I have them
and if I want to change the aperture, I can do it much easier in camera
in my viewfinder or the screen
so I don't have to be double guessing, or looking at the lens to see my aperture
but at least, this Sigma lens has a lock switch here
so the aperture ring doesn't move
you have to switch that to actually change the aperture
which is a great feature
but what it does is basically removing that feature from that lens
one that I didn't need
the Sony lens does not have that option
it's stiffer to get it out of automatic mode, of automatic aperture
like it is right now
but it does happen too often, in my opinion
many, many times, I take the camera or the lens out of the bag
I try to shoot something really quick
and I don't know why, I'm stuck at f/16 or f/11
I cannot figure out how to change it
until I realize, ouch, the lens is set at f/16
I have to get it back to Auto
so that's very annoying in my opinion
and something that I actually paid for
so I wish...
I don't know, I'm being a little bit selfish here
because I don't use these features and some of you might find them useful
which is totally fine
another feature that I don't like is the custom bottom
because they are not standard
some lenses have them, some lenses don't
some lenses have 2, some lenses have 1
some lenses have it on the right, some lenses have it on the left
and to me that is a huge downside to the custom button
because I want using my camera to feel like second nature to me
at any moment, I know what to do with this camera
I know how to change the exposure
I know how to change the aperture
I know how to do 99% of the things that I need in the field
very fast and very quick
because I'm used to the controls and the settings
if I add something that depends on the lens that I'm using
then I'm making things more complicated
I'm gonna have to think a little bit harder, a little bit longer
the same goes with the aperture, by the way if
some of my lenses have it, and some of my lenses don't
then it's kind of pointless
because again, I become aware of my camera, I become aware of my gear
instead of focusing on what I should be focusing on
I really like my camera, my lens, all the equipment that I use, to disappear
and let me work on what matters the most
that is capturing the composition and the image that I want to capture
I hope this makes sense
again, this is just my personal use and my very own perspective on camera gear
your might differ, and that is totally fine
you might love the aperture ring and that is totally fine
I'm just sharing my perspective and my thoughts here
feel free to share yours down below
anyway, this is all I had to say about this trio of prime lenses
that I love bringing with me on a daily basis on my daily walks
I love the flexibility that they give me to switch things up
from shooting just with the zoom lenses
the creative limitations that they set for me when it comes to focal lengths
most of the time I bring the 3 of them,
but sometimes I just go out with the camera and the 35mm for example
so you can combine them any way you want, of course
at the same time, I appreciate that new creative tool that I have with the shallower depth of field
and being able to shoot in darker conditions and still get a very decent photograph
I'm gonna keep going now, and hopefully make some images on this beautiful morning
tomorrow, it's supposed to rain
so hopefully I'll be able to go somewhere and make some images
because again, I've been kind of sick of staying at home
with that very sunny and very hot weather that we've been having
we're getting a break tomorrow, hopefully I can make a video about it
thank you so much for watching
and see you in the next one!